Photographs look back on industrial history of Hebburn and Jarrow

Jarrow and Hebburn History Society annual exhibition was opened by Dr Malcolm Grady, right, who is seen with some of the committe members.

The annual event, from the Jarrow and Hebburn History Society, is on offer this week.

The display, entitled Been And Gone, includes hundreds of photographs that date back as far as the 1800s.

Jarrow and Hebburn History Society annual exhibition.

It focuses on former factories that were based in Hebburn and Jarrow, such as Cigarette Components and The Morganite, as well as old schools, like Jarrow Convent School, businesses, and vintage transport.

The photographs can be seen at the empty shop next to Thompson’s travel agents in the Viking Centre, Jarrow, until Saturday.

The exhibition, which was officially unveiled by historian Dr Malcolm Grady, also features photographs marking the 80th anniversary of the Jarrow Crusade, which saw 200 local people march to London in October 1936 to deliver a petition to parliament demanding work for the poverty-stricken town.

The society’s secretary, Win Currie, said the exhibition has had a fantastic response so far.

She said: “We’ve had between 250 to 300 people through the doors every single day, it’s been absolutely fantastic. It’s very interesting for local people, but we’ve had people coming from all over to see it, from Newcastle and even a man from Scotland who heard about it from his relative and wanted to come along for a look.

“The photographs are all from the society’s archive, we have thousands of them. They go back as far as the 1800s and people like coming along to see if they can spot their relatives and ancestors in the photos, or to look back on the factories they used to work at and reminisce about the days they spent there.

“We hold an exhibition every year and it’s always very well supported by local people and we need them to keep coming so we can keep doing it every year.”

The society will return in September with another exhibition in Hebburn.

Win added: “It’s very important for people to look back and learn about their heritage and it’s a great thing for the town.

“We even get students from universities coming along who are doing their dissertations, so we help them as well.

“The more people who come along to see it, the better chance we’ll have of getting an empty shop to host our exhibition in next year.”

The exhibition is on show from 10am to 4pm each day until Saturday.